Wednesday, September 12, 2018

When it comes to trucks, crew cabs and extended/king cabs
are getting really popular. The days of single cabs are not gone, but they are
few and far between. If you want extra bass, you’re limited by the space you
have under the rear seat. While many will give you enough space where a true
shallow mount won’t be required, you also won’t be able to get a high power sub
with a huge magnet under the back seat. For those of you in this boat, you want
a fairly shallow mounting sub that can still handle a decent amount of power
and play sufficiently loud and deep. This desire is also had by many non-truck
owners, as compact vehicles also do not have much trunk space. Up for review is
the Image Dynamics ID10.

Features and specs:

Imp 2/8 ohms:Nominal
Resistance

Re1.8/7.2 ohmsDC Resistance

Fs23.2HzResonant
frequency

Qes.387Electrical
"Q"

Qms3.714Mechanical
"Q"

Qts.35Total
"Q"

Vas2.43 cuft (69
liters)Equivalent volume

Xmax17.0mmOne way linear

Sd350 cm2Cone area

Spl86.5dbSensitivity

Pwr250rms/450maxPower Handling

I love the design of the Image Dynamics ID10. At only 5.12”
mounting depth, it is shallow enough to work in most applications. As a 10 inch
driver you can get away with using it in a smaller enclosure with as little as
0.40 cubic airspace! Rated at only 250 watts RMS, it also doesn’t take a lot
off power to push them. So a small sub amp that can be mounted under the front
seat would work. Also, the sub channel on all 5 channel amps will be able to
push it as well.

The best part I think is its frequency response. Image
Dynamics actually calls it an Ultra Low Frequency Transducer. I was actually
shocked by it’s specs! Most 10’s in a ported enclosure can be tuned to the low
30’s in a fairly large enclosure, or in the 40’s in a sealed enclosure. But in
a 1.14 cu ft ported enclosure it will go down to 32hz, or 23hz at -3 db in
car! And a 0.40 cu ft sealed will get down to 21hz in Car!! That is seriously
low. While most bass is in the 50hz range, what this means that you won’t miss
any of your music, no matter what style of music you listen to.

The Image Dynamics ID10 came in a nice looking color printed
box, with images and specs of the subwoofer. And given it’s specs, it is
definitely a subwoofer! I really liked the power range chart on the box. While
it’s rated to 250 watts RMS, it looks like if you keep it under 400 watts of
clean power you’ll be ok, according to the chart.

Opening the box revealed a well protected subwoofer held in
custom cut out cardboard. While this is Image Dynamics entry level subwoofer,
it is still Image Dynamics. This is not a entry level driver. The basket is
stamped steal, but it does have some great features, like the push style
terminals, sewn-in tinsel leads, poly/mica cone and santoprene surrounds. Aside
from not having a cast basket, the rest of it does not look entry level. And at
it’s power rating, the stamped basket works just fine.

This Image Dynamics ID10 has me very excited. As a musician,
I listen to all music types, including classical. So low bass output is
important to me. I like to get as close to 20 hz output as possible. That is
extremely difficult, especially for a 10 inch driver. I haven’t found any other
10 inch driver with as shallow of a mounting as the ID10, that will play that
deep. So we are really excited to review the Image dynamics ID10. For you truck
owners, the back seat is a perfect place for a pair of ID’s. So we are
reviewing a pair of ID10’s.

When it comes to performance, ported will play louder than
sealed. It also tends to play deeper. But ported doesn’t have that dynamic
tight impact that you get with sealed. So the Image Dynamics ID10 in a sealed
enclosure will give you the dynamic tight bass, and also give you the ultra
deep base. And reviewing two subs, should give the output of a single ported
subwoofer. So let’s now see how they perform.

I started things out on our test bench with some sine
waves.We used a sealed enclosure with
.82cu ft per sub.Even without any cabin
gain, we had some great output, especially at its recommended 250-350 watts RMS.We pushed things just a tad and fed 400 watts
RMS to each sub.And on the bench we
measured frequency response down to 20hz at -3db, with output up to 108db measured at about 1 meter.For a 10 inch driver in a sealed
enclosure....very impressive!Now it's
time for the music.

I turned things real deep right out of the gate with Also
Sprach Zarathustra.This is the popular
track from 2001 A Space Odyssey.The low
rumble at the beginning of the track was
really clean, well sustained, and the cone was well controlled by the
motor.And it played not only really
really deep, but also played with very good authority.

Next up was New Order: Blue Monday.As expected from a sealed enclosure, the
quick beats at the very beginning was very quick, clean without skipping a
beat, or having a hint of muddiness.They also were nice and tight with very good impact.Next the beats got some added depth, and the
ID10's continued to impress with the low end extending.The bass was still nice and clean, and played
loud with good authority.

Now it was time for another great bass track, Katy Perry:
Dark Horse.Here the bass was even
deeper.Yet the ID10's played really
clean, with very deep extension, and smooth bass.And they hit really hard.

Last but not least was one of my all-time old school favorites,
Techmaster PB: Activate, and Time To Jam. These tracks can cause fits due to
the deep base and high output.As we
expected, the Image Dynamic ID10's continued to impress.Beats were quick, clean, and not a hint of
muddiness.The beats not only were
really deep, but they hit hard and played with very good authority. It's just
the kind of quality bass that I love to hear.

I had to keep reminding myself that I was only pushing 400
watts to each subwoofer.Of course it did
not have the kind of bone rattling output that a massive power handling sub,
like the 1000 watt RMS IDMAX10.But they
still played better than expected for the power they were given.Output however is only part of the
equation.Sound quality is also
important, and Image Dynamics has you covered here as well.Not only did they play loud for the power
given, they were also very musical as well!And that's probably the best compliment you can give a sub.Based on their design, features, quality, and
performance, the Image Dynamics ID10 has earned our Highly Recommended
Award.For more info and complete specs,
check out their website at www.imagedynamics.net.